Is India’s best Chinese restaurant in Mahabalipuram?

Traditional meets modern, local meets global at Tao of Peng

If your love for food and gourmet cooking fuels your holidays, then Mahabalipuram could be your next (pot) stop. Now open at the swanky InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort is Tao of Peng, a new Chinese restaurant that offers a range of Sichuan and Cantonese cuisines.

Named after Peng Zu, a Chinese culinary master, Tao of Peng is a modern, elegant tribute to the cuisine of the region (think dishes with emulsions, foams, and caviar garnishes). With chef de cuisine Avinash Naha at the helm, this kitchen is sending out a range of dishes that include ma po tofu with mince mushrooms; 24hr slow-cooked pork belly; prawn har gau, chicken shao mai, four-mushroom dumplings and crispy prawn cheung fan; pan-seared scallops with puffed rice, fish roe and wasabi purée; and lamb chops in Mongolian sauce. Celebrated Singapore chef Sam Leong, too, has added his signature creations to the list: wasabi prawns, tofu with spicy shiitake mushrooms, and stewed duck with ginger.

Besides Chinese ingredients—snow peas, edamame, mu err mushrooms—as well as locally sourced rock lobster and Indian salmon, the restaurant uses imports such as Italy’s Alba truffles, Norwegian scallops, lamb rack from New Zealand and silken tofu from Japan. Cocktails from the bar are peppered with Asian ingredients: wasabi, galangal and coconut milk.

You can choose from indoor or alfresco dining options to enjoy your meal. To personalise your experience, book one of the private alcoves, which entitles you to a degustation menu.

Here are some of the dishes in pictures:

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Cheung fun with mushroom and asparagus

Barbecued pork spare ribs

Hon Shimeji, a mushroom dish

Lamb chops in Mongolian sauce

Lobster money bags

Pan-fried Chilean sea bass

Pan-fried Shanghai dumpling with chicken

Pan-seared scallop

Scallop siu mai

Sea-bass dumpling

Wasabi prawns by chef Sam Leong

Tao of Peng is open for dinner from Tuesday to Sunday and for lunch on weekends. Call +91-44-71720101 to book a table.